TOMAS RUDYS
BARISTA CHAMPION OF LITHUANIA
Barista Mag: Before coffee, did you work in a different job or industry, or what did you study in school?
Tomas: I have been a waiter, barman, and a restaurant manager.
BMag: How did you get started in coffee?
Tomas: In Ireland, Esquires Coffee House manager Andrian Vlasceanu infected me with a coffee.
BMag: What was your first amazing experience with coffee?
Tomas: Every single point you understand about coffee gives you another question. It’s amazing.
BMag: Who has been your greatest influence in coffee? Why?
Tomas: There is no one greatest. There are lots of small influences.
BMag: What would you like to see change about the coffee industry/community?
Tomas: I want to help people who grow coffee. Lots of them do not know what they are growing. Most of them don’t try to grow, pick and process better when they are doing.
BMag: Name a coffee luminary (famous person) you would like to meet, and why:
Stefanos Domatiotis, Matt Perger, Colin Harmon, Raul Rodas, Sammy Piccolo. Because all of them are real. Not just visitors in a coffee world.
BMag: Name a barista you admire, and why:
Tomas: I know many baristas and I am meeting every day new admirable guys.
BMag: Which coffee producing country you would like to visit, and why?
Tomas: Ethiopia. Absolutely amazing coffee… Wild, with stories, galloping, sharp beans.
BMag: What are your interests outside of coffee?
Tomas: The more I live, the less things are interesting to me outside of coffee. Coffee changed my life. It’s like the part of my family.
BMag: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Tomas: Life is unpredictable. Coffee and love have big wings.
BMag: Is there anyone you would like to thank or who helped you prepare for the WBC?
Tomas: My wife Giedre ”she did and is still doing an amazing job. She’s only one person who believed in me 100 percent. My coach Saulius, because I have good technical skills because of him. My first teacher Adrian showed me how to work with passion. And everybody who has ever tasted my coffee.
